Petronas stresses strong financial profile after outlook lowered

Petronas states all its dividend payments, including the one-off special dividend and any future dividends, will take into account its ability to service debts, fund its ongoing operations and invest in future growth.

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) emphasises its declaration of dividends and also future dividends to the government will not impact its on-going operations due to its strong financial profile.

The national oil company said on Sunday that “all its dividend payments, including the one-off special dividend and any future dividends, will take into account its ability to service debts, fund its ongoing operations and invest in future growth”.

It issued the statement after Moody’s Investors Service changed its ratings outlook on Petronas from stable to negative.

The rating agency had stated that the outlook change was due to Moody’s view that the financial profile of Petronas would be at risk of deteriorating if dividend payments remain high in the future.

To recap, S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service had affirmed Petronas’ credit ratings of A- and A1 respectively, subsequent to the announcement of the RM30bil one-off special dividend payment in the 2019 Budget.

S&P and Moody’s credit ratings affirmation reflected Petronas’ solid financial position that remains robust supported by strong fundamentals, sizeable net cash and ample liquidity position, driven by the transformation efforts in the past few years in the areas of operational efficiency, cost reduction and portfolio optimisation, and supported by improved oil prices.